Short Summary

In Lebanon, dockers at Beirut Port have gone back to work after a four-day strike.?

Description

In Lebanon, dockers at Beirut Port have gone back to work after a four-day strike. They walked out on Friday (23 March) in protest, over a sniper attack the day before. One man was killed and another wounded in the attack. Beirut Port is near the centre of the Lebanese capital, the scene of battles last summer (July 1978) between Syrian troops of the Peacekeeping Arab Deterrent Force (ADF) and rightist Christian militiamen.

SYNOPSIS: Despite the activity, the port of Beirut has been at a virtual standstill since last July, the height of the recent civil unrest between the A.D.F. and Christians. The sniper attack on the 22nd of March was reported to have come from the Christian quarters of the city. The death of the docker shot in the attack resulted in a strike over what the dockers saw as a lack of security in the port area. The unions called for the strike to continue until the army could guarantee the safety of dock workers.

In protest over the lack of security the President of the Port Authority, Henri Pharaon, submitted his resignation. But after government assurances that special security measures had been taken to protect the workers Mr. Pharaon withdrew his resignation and the dockers went back to work. In recent months, three labourers have been killed and fifteen wounded in sniper fire at what was once the busiest port in the Middle East.